In an apparent hat-tip to GT Academy, the PlayStation-liveried Nissan GT-R used in the competition finals escorts the Google Maps camera around the circuit, as an Aston Martin V8 Vantage and Ferrari F430 trail behind.

Watch the video above to see how the images were (quite slowly…) captured, or just check out Silverstone on Google Maps to see how it all turned out. Thanks to @PowderGuy for the tip!

They used a bike cause it’s google. Google isnt your typical company that disregards their employees mental and physical health. Wouldnt you love to bike through silverstone race circuit with 3 amazing cars following you while being paid? I sure would! Bikes are easy to control too. Another possible reason instead of a powered vehicle b/c its a race circuit, who wouldnt give it a little extra gas once in a while. It would jepordize the quality of their product. It shocking how stupid people are on here… Yes they are google mapping the track with cars hot lapping on the track!… Of course..

Aug. 10, 4:06am

TCSdisable

Fact: PowderGuy is me :)

Aug. 9, 4:47pm

DuskTrooper

I bet if this was happening in GT5 mulitplayer, everyone would be ramming that bike.

Aug. 9, 3:02pm

scarslasher

I doubt it’s a hat-tip to PS, Sony, or GT Academy.
The Nissan GTR is just so good-looking.

Aug. 8, 11:21am

danger23

and the cars look bored

Aug. 8, 11:19am

danger23

least it’s cool out there

Aug. 7, 8:19am

toospiciecc

I hope this means Silverstone will be on GT5 or GT6?

Aug. 7, 9:18am

ccjcc81

I could be wrong, but that does not look like laser scanning. Just photographing for google street view when searching maps.

Aug. 7, 2:49pm

Amac500

Doesn’t make a difference ccjcc81. I expect to see Silverstone in GT5. They had they’re GT Academy event there and now they have the GT Academy car doing google maps. Invested interest is what that indicates to me. I mean for all the GT Academy events they do there at one of the largest most historic venues in the world, I’d be surprised if it wasn’t in a DLC pack for about $5, track has 4 or 5 layouts. At some point I think we’ll see it, 90% confident.

Aug. 7, 5:39pm

That_guy100

@Amac500 This is GT5. Learn to not get your hopes up because of blind speculation.

Aug. 7, 6:54pm

Amac500

I’ve learned that by now, I’m basing off of PD’s involvement in a track of similar high stature they added, being Spa, if you remember the really old articles about things they had done their up until it was added.

Aug. 7, 4:44am

flink racquet

Does this mean DLC for GT5 or new track for GT6?

Aug. 7, 1:09am

ccjcc81

I’ve been over-exposed to GT-Rs. Every time I see one now i have a nervous twitch. I spoke to my therapist about it. He recommended that I switch to Forza.

Aug. 7, 1:35am

binkie75

Lol!

Aug. 7, 2:23am

sangdude82

Haha :D

Aug. 7, 2:51pm

Amac500

Yeah I’m getting the same syndrome, lol, bad marketing strategy by Nissan. The car went from being okay with me bedew I played GT5 to the point I’ve been smothered with them like an over protective mother. Makes me want to move out of the house, haha.

Aug. 7, 12:12am

tpark103

A word to all you want to be pro racers, see the guy on the bike!!! Lol

Step away from the keyboard occasionally

Step away from the ( Cheech & Chong ) occasionally

Cardio!!! Lol

Aug. 6, 10:35pm

Pit Crew

Id bet good money the guys driving the cars are laughing

Aug. 7, 12:07am

tpark103

No doubt, lol this guy needs t hit the gym!!

Aug. 6, 6:03pm

tpark103

The two google maps people I’ve seen in Colorado were in a Subaru Impeza and a Toyota Prius

Aug. 7, 2:52pm

Amac500

I saw a Ford Fiesta one last year here in Michigan, at least I’m 50% that’s what it was, don’t quite remember.

Aug. 6, 5:50pm

Amac500

That’s a GT-R I’m surprised hasn’t been given out yet for any GT-Academy stuff, one with the PlayStation scheme they use with changing numbers sence that I the only difference between all those GT-R’s. Lol, one of the few Nissan models I would want.

Aug. 7, 7:20am

trk29

Well that would make sense that’s why we won’t get it.

Aug. 6, 5:32pm

GTI_mkV

ugghh, that looks so painful for the drivers. Go ahead and hop in your Aston / Ferrari…and follow that bicycle, at 3 mph.

Aug. 6, 3:52pm

trk29

All the money that google has and they do this with a bicycle? Looks like a single speed too. Dude was even wearing a jacket no wonder he was sweating.

Aug. 6, 5:51pm

Amac500

Lol, they used cars to, they did my neighborhood last year. But yeah I saw th bike and said “Huh?” haha

Aug. 6, 2:31pm

Zamado75

Can you imagine him using that bike to scan the ‘Ring, lol

I think If I used an X1 to draft, I get get it round in 7 years and 27 months. ; )

Aug. 6, 4:33pm

MadduckUK

Out of all the cars in the world, I don’t think one with a fan on the back is the best choice.

Aug. 6, 5:39pm

themartlab

The ring is only 20 km or so. An hour should be more than enough to do the track.

Aug. 6, 1:35pm

leeson65

Why a bicycle?

Aug. 6, 5:52pm

Amac500

I wanna see him bike down the corkscrew at Laguna Seca, or Bathurst, lol

Aug. 7, 4:45am

flink racquet

maybe bicycles are going to be in GT6? or maybe some gt5 dlc, come on Caz, we need bicycles now!

Aug. 6, 1:06pm

leexr2i

I want to see that guy ride a lap of the ring on his lil tricycle! Give him 2 corners before he is killed by a 320i

Aug. 6, 12:57pm

HondaS800

Cool!

Aug. 6, 12:37pm

440 CHARGER

Google has done this for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well, except you are behind a Camaro pace car. It’s pretty thorough and takes you though all of the streets in the infield, the pit lane, and even gasoline alley. I wonder how many other race tracks Google has done now.

Aug. 6, 12:49pm

440 CHARGER

And several others it looks like…

Aug. 6, 5:53pm

Amac500

Suzuka and Laguna Seca I know they have done.

Aug. 6, 11:44am

SavageEvil

Saw the story came in to read comments, greeted by complaints…never fails. The GTR is just escorting him around the course so he doesn’t get run over by another car hot lapping. As you can attest that bicycles are hard to notice on streets, that’s more likely a safety thing.

Aug. 6, 12:08pm

another_jakhole

Nah, I’m sure they had it closed for the time being. I was thinking the three cars were there for show. Google Street View is on streets usually, ya know lol.

Aug. 6, 5:54pm

Amac500

It was deffientebtly closed there was nobody else lapping lol

Aug. 6, 11:21am

Yauma9

They were not escorting the guy in the bicycle, they were hot-lapping. :D

Aug. 6, 10:29am

Youngun

He still beat a 2cv’s lap time lol

Aug. 6, 10:16am

mikecustom

is it me? or the whole GT franchise/PD/SONY is now begining to look like a bad joke

Aug. 6, 10:20am

another_jakhole

We know who the joke is.

Aug. 6, 11:36am

AnPrionsaBeag

You?

Aug. 6, 12:06pm

another_jakhole

Obvious reply is obvious. And you’re here for the wrong reasons, so go away.

Aug. 6, 2:32pm

AnPrionsaBeag

“We know who the joke is.”

Aug. 6, 10:00am

Blood*Specter

So are we gonna get the freaking track and all its configurations or what? I know, thats like so much to ask….right?

Sliverstone would be indeed sweet.

Aug. 6, 5:57pm

Amac500

When they go to due these GT Academy events at tracks and stuff I would much eater have them pack up the car they use to scan tracks then Kaz’s 24 Hour car. See what I did there? Same cost of travel with results we can enjoy.

Aug. 6, 8:40am

danger23

Dam he looks tired

Aug. 7, 9:49pm

Boost’10

Lets see him go around the nurburgring 8P

Aug. 8, 11:17am

danger23

lol yeah i’d bet they would have a couple of gatorades on the sides of that bike

Aug. 6, 8:21am

Jaycue58

Seeing as everybody goes off track with every single posting made; think i’ll do it for a change does this mean we will get this track as a DLC……………………….LMFAO

Aug. 6, 8:36am

danger23

lmfao sry to say only dlc were looking at is prolly when gt6 comes out

Aug. 6, 8:13am

NjLowrider

They couldn’t give him an electric bike?

Aug. 6, 8:23am

R1SHORT

I was just about to post the same. To me it dosen’t look that stable at the top of that mast. Must be the flex in the spokes or low tire pressure. They should have used a stretched “hovaround chair”. At least they kept the three wheeled tripod idea.

Aug. 6, 7:59am

RobDoggy05

I’m just curious to why a man on a bicycle has to get escorted by a GTR, Ferrari, and an Aston Martin.

I think “escorting” is an excuse for FREE ADVERTISING, I want to see the track and surroundings… Not a car driving next to the damn camera…..

Aug. 6, 8:34am

King Something

It sounds like the start of a bad joke.

“So a bicyclist is being escorted by a GT-R, a Vantage and a 430….”

Aug. 6, 5:56pm

dmz_bean

Because they paid a lot of money to be in those photos… Good marketing goes a long way.

Aug. 6, 7:57am

Youngun

At least I can drive a Gran Turismo car on silverstone some how

Aug. 6, 8:10am

DA6righthand

Lol

Aug. 6, 5:30pm

TP1

Sounds more like the start of a Top Gear episode:
“Tonight, James rides a bycicle”

Aug. 6, 5:59pm

Amac500

Lol, didn’t they once have “And they Stig rides a bike” on the intro? They had an episode where he tried riding a bike and couldn’t.

Aug. 6, 7:47am

japlkofk69

Man i want that GTR

Aug. 6, 8:37am

danger23

man we got enough gtr’s

Aug. 6, 10:25am

another_jakhole

We want it for the exterior.

Aug. 6, 6:00pm

Amac500

Yeah the only GT-R I am good with is race painted ones.

Aug. 6, 7:48pm

another_jakhole

lol Photo Mode, man.

Aug. 6, 6:06am

nebularis23

@markyracing500 – Do you or does anyone know what song that is in the video?

Aug. 6, 4:42am

commodoreben

Id like to see that guy on the bike do a lap of Mount Panorama.

Aug. 6, 5:19am

nissanfanatic

Haha yeah, good luck with that one!!

Aug. 6, 5:49am

Foxiol

Or Nürburgring…lol…well at least after the “hillclimb” he has the downhill…but also he can´t go that fast…yep, poor guy.

Aug. 6, 11:38am

AnPrionsaBeag

You guys are sadistic!

Aug. 6, 4:09am

Sasek

Just like I said.

Aug. 6, 3:49am

colj00

lol thats derpy

Aug. 6, 3:47am

McClarenDesign

Now can we have Silverstone?!?

Aug. 6, 3:45am

Latetzki

That is so lame…

Aug. 6, 3:44am

liampage123

Cool!

Aug. 6, 3:18am

barkeep

It doesn’t need to be done fast. It has to be done WELL. :D

Aug. 6, 3:12am

signmc

I hope the any cars seen on googlemaps are premium :) lmao

Aug. 6, 2:56am

nissanfanatic

I see Google have now lowered their budget for streetview vehicles…

Aug. 6, 2:52am

The Gran Finale

*Patiently waits for comment complaining how the circuit isn’t in the game.*